Angular Contact Bearings

Angular Contact Bearings

Angular contact ball bearings are a kind of radial bearings because they carry axial loads, which are thrust loads that move in a straight line through the bearing. Angular contact bearings can be made from steel or, increasingly, ceramic materials such as silicon nitride. Steel, however, remains the strongest option. Angular contact ball bearings range in size from around from less than 10 millimeters up to about 60 mm. They are found in aircraft and aerospace systems, specifically in fuel control, guidance systems and structural support. Angular contact bearings are also used in wheel axles or other situations in which a shaft moves axially in a hole. Bearings are also widely used in machinery, assembly lines, industrial equipment, automobiles, turbines, jet engines and dental and medical equipment.

Angular contact bearings are one-directional thrust bearings that are able to withstand moderate radial loads and heavy thrust loads. The major design characteristic that can be used to identify these bearings is that either one or both of the inner and outer races have one shoulder higher than the other so that a contact angle between the races and balls is formed during use. Angular contact bearings are constructed this way so that their races and the bearing balls' contact points are at an angle relative to the axis of the operating axis of the bearing. The standard operating angles as measured relative to a line running perpendicularly to the bearing axis are 15°, 30° and 40°. This contact angle is made through the act of preloading, which minimizes or removes gaps between the two races and the balls. The preload can be built in the bearing or created when the bearing is added to an assembly. The balls themselves are made from metal wire that is cut to the approximate size of the desired outer diameter of the ball. They travel through a stamping machine with a rotating plate and are formed into identical spheres. After being heat treated, they may be soft ground, hard ground or undergo a chemical finishing process to ensure that each ball is perfectly round, symmetrical and precise. The races are manufactured using a throughfeed process where the workpieces are ground in three stages until reaching exact specifications.